Saints and Tombs of Erzurum

Taşkesenli Sheikh Ahmed Efendi

A Nakşibendî-Hâlidî sheikh; a professor who built up a wide circle of disciples at Erzurum. He was born in 1848 in the village of Hacılar in the district of Karlıova in Bingöl. He studied jurisprudence and the religious sciences with Molla Ahmed-i Kûkî, and the mathematical disciplines with Şeyh Hâlid-i Evrekî. By attaching himself to Sıbgatullah Arvâsî he joined a chain reaching as far as Hâlid al-Baghdâdî, the founder of the Hâlidiyya branch. In 1893 he was sent to Erzurum and settled in the Üçkümbetler district of the Sultanmelik quarter. He taught at the Câferiye Medrese and formed a wide circle of disciples. He died on 24 March 1909 at Erzurum. His Circle of Influence — He gave authorisation to 78 persons; among them are his son Şeyh Ziyâeddin and his cousin Şeyh İbrâhim. His Tomb and Complex — His tomb is in the courtyard of the Taşkesenli Mosque at Erzurum.

Pir Ali Baba

A 16th-century Sufi of Erzurum holding ijaza in the Halveti, Rifai, Qadiri and Naqshbandi paths. His endowment deed is dated AH 940/1533; he dedicated village revenues to the annual 'thousand-and-one Qur'an completions' (binbir hatim), a tradition still observed in Erzurum. His tomb sits on Pir Ali Baba hill between Dutçu (Tuzcu) and Tepeköy; it bears no inscription. His exact death year is uncertain (approximate, from the endowment date). (Sources: Erzurum Governorate / Provincial Culture Dir.; Erzurum Youth Foundation; Erzurum Portalı)

Taşkesenli Sheikh Muhammed Sıddık Efendi

One of the scholars and shaykhs of the Taşkesenli , a Naqshbandi shaykh family well known in and around Erzurum; he served as mufti and preacher and was known as the “mufti of Horasan”. The family's Sufi chain reaches the Khalidiyya branch of the Naqshbandiyya. His grandfather Shaykh Ahmed Efendi (1848-1909), who gave the family its name, had been sent to Erzurum for spiritual guidance (1893) and came to be called Taşkesenli because he spent the summer months in the village of Taşkesen. He was born in Erzurum on 11 December 1914. His father was Ziyâeddin Efendi, known for his commentaries and glosses on some of the books taught in the madrasas. When his father died eight days after his birth, he was brought up by his elder brother Şehâbeddin Efendi , with whom he read Arabic and Persian, jurisprudence, theology, hadith, exegesis and logic and received his licence ( ijaza ). While continuing his madrasa studies he also attended primary and middle school in Erzurum. In 1952 he was appointed mufti of Tekman, a district of Erzurum. After serving as mufti in Horasan in the years 1954-1960 he was appointed central preacher of Erzurum. In the 1960 coup he was arrested and sent to Sivas, but was released six months later and resumed his post in Erzurum. In the meantime he went to Nurşin in Bitlis, took initiation from Tâhâ Efendi , one of the grandsons of Shaykh Abdurrahman Tâhî, and received his deputyship ( khilafa ) from him. While preaching in Erzurum he also saw to the training of his disciples; he turned the lower floor of his house into a madrasa and taught hundreds of students. He died in Erzurum on 13 February 1985. His Circle of Influence — Among the students he taught at his house were his nephew Zeki Hoca, the former mufti of Tortum Hâfız Yahya Hoca, Eşref Hoca, one of the honorary preachers and teachers of Erzurum, and Hâfız Şuayıb Hoca from the village of Kevank in Pasinler. The Taşkesenli Culture, Education and Solidarity Foundation has been established in Erzurum in the family's name. His Works — He has a divan entitled Münâcât .

Taşkesenli Sheikh Alaeddin Efendi

Born in 1881 in Taşkesen village (Tekman), a member of the Taşkesenli ulema family and nephew of Sheikh Ahmed Taşkeseni. A müderris expert in fiqh and Arabic grammar, he taught in the villages of Taşkesen, Komasor, Çukuryayla and Alaca. He died in 1967 in Taşkesen village and was buried in the village cemetery. (Sources: Evliyalar.net; Erzurum Gazetesi 'Erzurum'un Kandilleri')

Çöğenderli Hacı Salih Efendi

Born in 1898 in Çaykara, Trabzon; when his family settled in Çöğender village (Pasinler) he became known as 'Çöğenderli' and was a hafiz by age seven. He became a disciple of Hacı Ferşad Efendi of the Naqshbandi-Gümüşhanevi branch. He died on 2 February 1991; his remains were transferred to Çöğender village six months later. His tomb at the village entrance is an open structure of two domes on four columns. (Sources: Evliyalar.net; Erzurum Portalı)

Ebu İshak Kazeruni Lodge Tomb (Seyyid Ali) — Maqam

Ebu İshak Kazeruni (Ibrahim b. Şehriyar, 963-1035) was a famous Sufi born and died in Kazerun near Shiraz, eponym of the Ishaqiyya/Kazeruniyya order. The structure in a bastion of Erzurum castle is a lodge founded in his name; per historian İ.H. Konyalı he himself is buried in Kazerun — the Erzurum site is a MAQAM/lodge-tomb (the grave inside is locally attributed to 'Seyyid Ali'). Restored by the Ministry of Culture in 2006. (Sources: Erzurum Encyclopedia; Kültür Portalı)

Habib Baba (Habib-i Hindî)

(k.s.)

A Qādirī sheikh of Indian origin (called Habib-i Hindî), whose father was the mufti of Bukhara. On his master's instruction he settled in Erzurum to guide the people. He died in 1847 and was buried in the tomb in Yakutiye (Tebrizkapı), Erzurum, formerly known as the Timurtaş Baba Türbesi, later renamed after him.

Abdurrahman Ghazi

(r.a.)

The figure to whom one of the most visited shrines of Erzurum belongs; a warrior whose identity is not known with certainty. 🔴 This record rests on an indirect source : the figure has no independent encyclopaedia article; what follows is what the article on the complex bearing his name gives. The source states in its very first sentence that his identity is not clear . Two separate views are recorded about his identity. According to the first he may have been one of ten people assigned to teach Islam during the conquest of Erzurum under the command of Iyâd b. Ghanm. According to the second he is Abdurrahman b. Süleyman İbşîrî , the commander of the abdâl who died a martyr at Erzurum in 643. His Tomb and Complex — The complex lies outside Erzurum near Eğerlitepe and consists of a mausoleum, a lodge and a mosque. The mausoleum, built in 1983, consists of two domed sections separated by a pointed arch in the middle, thus providing separate entrances for male and female visitors. The marble inscription on the western door attributes the restoration of 1796 to Ayşe Hatun, the wife of Governor Yûsuf Ziyâ Paşa. The adjoining mosque is in classical Ottoman architecture with its minaret and three-domed portico; its interior decoration dates from 1996 and its tiles were produced in the workshops of Kütahya. Recent expansions have added fountains, parks and landscaping, and the site has become a centre of pilgrimage.